You know how sometimes English musicians when they sing, don’t sound like they’re English. Yeah, that’s not an issue with Koogaphone’s Julie Gravell; she’s British, you know it. It’s similar with Koogaphone’s style of music. They have a style and swagger that fits in the naturally in the legacy of the British Invasion sans the invasion part. Comfortable rocking the UK and occasionally stretching out their hand to localities in Europe, Asia and Canada, this cool band that share a name with a Polish phone sex line knows how to rock and the proof’s in the proverbial pudding. 

The album opens hard with the wicked drum work of Matt Conyngham and launches into “Save Some Light” with its pulse-pounding, rhythm and Gravell’s kind of Debbie Harry by way of The Clash style vocals. “Something Better,” the following track, is where things started to really pick up, for me at least, with the lyrically hypnotic chorus “Wait for something better.” Hardly, what we’ve got here is pretty good. The single “Just Like Me” eases up on the throttle and goes for something more melodic while Gravell’s vocals are more, dare I day, sweet. It was a good preview for the final track on the album, “My Skin,” which has a nice alt-folk base to it, with a kind of blunt edge thanks to Gravell’s lyrical delivery. 

What amazes me about the album is its fidelity, its texture. It’s got a grainy kind of made in an underground studio on a reel to reel during the hey day of 70s punk feel. In other words, it’s grungy but I mean that in the best possible sense. One gets the impression that when Koogaphone’s recording, there’s no one in the sound booth looking for a way to “polish” them. They’re no frills rock that sounds good, but there’s an extra level of enjoyment stemming from the whimsical and catchy lyrics delivered by the energetic and thoroughly pleasing Gravell. The simple three-piece set up squeezes the music for every drop of juice and you leave feeling satisfied, a little peppy and ready to hit ‘replay’ on the media player. 

Track Listing:

1. Save Some Light
2. Something Better
3. White Trash
4. Just Like Me
5. Bed of Nails
6. Killer Looks
7. The Day and the Night
8. Easy Lay
9. I Know Jack
10. My Skin